blind and to darkness as israel pounds gaza again the body count rising with more deaths and injuries among children. bought a truce remains elusive with the palestinians accusing israel of stalling cease fire. and as the u.s. pledges to work for calling between the warring sides we'll look at why washington show sympathy for innocent civilians being killed in some parts of the middle east but not so much for us.

this is our g. coming to life from moscow i'm marina joshie welcome to the program israel's bombardment of gaza has intensified overnight despite talk of a pending cease fire the number of palestinians killed in the weeklong of fans of now exceeds one hundred forty with more than a thousand people want it just take a look at how the tragedy in gaza has unfolded in recent days but be aware as add these images are upsetting. is the. throw.

israeli bombs hitting residential districts and killing civilians are a daily reality in gaza those trying to report the conflict to the outside world are also being bombarded as journalist harry fear explains from within gaza. israel has intensified the pounding of gaza overnight and. particularly the targeting of governmental and police buildings and the biggest police it biggest police station was totally leveled causing structural damage to nearby buildings some of the biggest governmental structures in gaza city were targeted including the biggest civil service building here in gaza. in the southern area of the gaza strip was targeted heavily overnight particularly the smuggling tunnels which gazans called the survival smuggling tunnels were almost totally destroyed last i continually being pounded with helicopters and f. sixteen s they were struck over sixteen times last night yesterday israel killed three media workers shorthand journalists two of them a cameraman for the t.v.

channel another for the educational television channel and israel has admitted that it did deliberately target these civilians according to israel these stations that these media workers work for are not legitimate journalistic enterprises and therefore susceptible to being targeted any time gazans don't expect to see a cease fire today they hope to see a cease fire yesterday but they don't expect to see it any time soon they remember all too well the operation cast lead and what's happened in the last twenty four hours resembles increasingly. the reports of white phosphorus destroying off the bridge that connects middle north gaza with the south of gaza the isolation of the south of gaza increasingly resembling an escalation akin to that operation into two thousand and nine. israel is not winding down its assault on gaza earlier my colleague aaron allen talked to a spokesperson for the israeli ministry of the fans josh hammond and he said mom is

the only party to blame for civilian deaths on both sides. the israeli defense ministry who i represent and indeed the israeli public mourning civilian deaths on both sides i've seen it agree running around the so from bomb shelter to bomb shelter dodging rockets hearing the cries of israeli civilians and the cries in the wells of the air raid sirens when we see the graphic footage in gaza of dead children the hands of israeli israeli air strikes are the fold of hamas. so i can tell you they genuinely generally breaks my heart you think that we want to see dead children on any side as i said we mourn every loss of life hamas on the other hand a celebrating and they're putting their own civilians in danger who are in this predicament that however with the most strategically surgical precision pinpoint strikes when they're hiding beneath their civilian population there will be collateral damage meanwhile hamas blames israel forestalling peace talks in cairo

hopes that a cease fire agreement was a matter of hours were earlier qua by israel's demand for more time to respond to proposals i just fall asleep brings us the details. the chances for ceasefire are increasingly elusive that's a far cry today wednesday what we witnessed on late tuesday when we were hearing that a cease fire was imminent at that stage a key hamas spokesperson said that the announcement would be made but now what we're hearing from hamas is that israel is to blame for delaying the whole process and thus essential he says that israel has not yet responded to proposals put forward on the table television however for its side says that the draft agreement is too much tilted towards the gazans it also says it wants to see a twenty four hour lull in fighting that would give it some kind of indication as to the sincerity of the gazans to actually enforce such a cease fire now it's strange because you have all these discussions around a cease fire but on the ground you have

a very different situation so at this stage it is still possible that a ground operation could be called on we in fact are hearing from the israeli foreign minister avigdor lieberman he has said and i'm quote quoting that calls from the international community to refer in from a ground operation only strengthen hamas and extend the conflict is a lot of questions being asked particularly over the united nations which has been quiet for the better part of the last week in fact it hasn't issued any kind of statements since this conflict started and this is allegedly because it did not want to interfere with efforts by both the arab league and cairo to try and hash out some kind of cease fire if there is no ceasefire that is agreed to by the software and wednesday we're being told that the u.n. security council will hold an open debate and that this debate will address the whole issue of what to do and what is happening here on the ground u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton is in the region she's already met with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and she's on her way to cairo where she'll meet with the egyptian president as well as the arab league foreign ministers but she

certainly hasn't india herself to the gazans because already she has stated quite clearly that it is rolled and has the support of the united states in fact the word she used was that they give them rock solid. supports of course this is going down with the israeli public but it's been received very differently from those living in gaza while washington is almost some pledging support for israel is raising downs that. it's taken upon itself will bring biased results plus america's track record in selecting were to push for peace and protect civilians isn't helping as artie's gun as she can now explains the crisis in the middle east probably like no other crisis reveals the double speak of u.s. foreign policy the u.s. basically gave a green light to any of their actions with regards to palestinians and israel has been taking advantage of quite extensively because as president obama explained there is no country on earth would tolerate missiles raining down on its citizens

from outside its borders makes complete sense nobody should but one may ask what about all those countries that the us has bombed iraq afghanistan pakistan yemen and others or is it that when you refer to civilian deaths as collateral damage somehow killing civilians sounds more justified when it comes to the doesn't mean you usually hear u.s. officials speak along these lines of course in a conflict like this civilian casualties or inevitable but the u.s. is not always like that when the government was killing civilians the u.s. forced to sympathize with the innocents there in most graphic terms but it appears in washington sympathy for suffering can be selected this is hillary clinton on syria the shooting death of a one year old recently by the syrian regime's tanks and troops. is a very stark example of what is going on. one may ask what about those horrible

shots of children dying gaza is somehow a less stark example of what's going on it seems america's world police mindset and standing up for the weak thing doesn't apply to palestinians instead we hear the same mantra from u.s. officials that israel has the right to defend itself which effectively implies that in the eyes of washington the killing of civilians in gaza is justified the u.s. has most recently blocked the un security council statement calling for a cease fire in the israeli gaza conflict deeming the statement unbalanced against israel just goes the us has blocked all other palestinian related un resolutions in the past whether it was on israel continuing to build settlements on occupied territories or other initiatives put forward to ease the years long suppression of the people there by blocking all efforts of the international community to mediate a solution in washington contribute to the status quo and the status quo here is

that the root causes of the crisis have not been addressed and is the root causes remain any cease fire looks temporary there was a major israeli assault on gaza four years ago to more than a thousand people did not solve the problem so one may argue the status quo almost guarantees that the cycle of violence will continue antagonize a sentiment is growing within israel with some politicians going as far as calling for the area to be flattened like corrosion on israeli born political activists you're horace told us the country's rarick is becoming more cruel. we've seen. showing the son the son of former prime minister shown in an opinion article in the jerusalem post calling for genocide i mean i you know i think it's i agree just not just that he he wrote this article but you know the editor is not of a distinguished newspaper and is really albeit a you know unknown right wing newspaper but still and use the you know newspaper

that is part of the mainstream allowed him to to to air essentially pinions people in rwanda people in the former yugoslavia sent it to the hague you know after having every written words as cruel and inhumane as as as the ones they're going to mr sharon has has written and they have to say it's not an individual politician here and there i am very sad i'm ashamed to say that recent opinion polls were published in the israeli newspapers i believe it recently have shown that nearly ninety percent of the populace. in the country support this operation and support but it is considered by many to be collateral damage. of get the killings of children and women and the elderly violence on the ground and diplomatic wrangles are not the only battlefield in the middle east they're also online and they're

probing the syosset arraf asking ause planes the latest military conflict in the gaza strip may go down in history as the first war ever declared on twitter the official account of the israeli defense force announced the start of the pillar of defense operation and one of the us literally told the enemy to run and hide. but later hamas had their say using similar war rhetoric this exchange has been retreated thousands of times since and numbers do matter on twitter through hits likes replies and reach weeds more people than ever before turned to social media and the question is who is winning this online warfare and numbers speak for themselves according to the hashtags dot org website the gods are under attack crash tag is ten times more popular than israel under fire pray for gaza is twenty times more popular than pray for israel and gaza hash tag is almost twice as popular as israel in a nutshell this is the battle between

a heavily funded state propaganda machine and citizen journalism from the outside looking israel's content is better produced more powerful shiny and glossy take these banners for instance which were posted on idea of official facebook page how mars has also been manning the information war trenches some say clumsily as these tweets may suggest but the effect of social media boom on young palestinian activists in changing public perception of the palestinian israeli conflict has been huge youngers the residents regularly rush to hospitals and take and upload photos and videos of tragedy and inhumanity and some of the pictures have become symbolic of israel's disproportionate use of force the graphic and vocal message in those tweets is perhaps the reason why palestinian citizen journalism is proving more effective and why israeli social networkers simply cannot compete with the content coming out of gaza whether this first war started on twitter can become the first war lost on twitter is a question but one conclusion seems evident enough israel has not grasped the

destructive power of social media s tightly as it's holding the people of gaza in its grip. now so i have for this hour here are avoiding past mistakes syria's opposition coalition is one step away from for recognition by the u.s. and that view as they wait and see if the blog deserve skull pulling back in. as you say families struggle to heat their homes cold comfort from the power giants still dreaming profits from soaring energy bills all that and more after a short break. this is day starts at five am even earlier in the winter tending to his flock of story hundred sheep in the mountains and pains of. thirty five years old it wasn't the life he dreamt of having studied accounting but he dition and familiar dictated

that he would take on the care of these animals after his father has just made camp at their winter found stage setting up his ute judicial to fenian round tent made of diskin. his p.c. back amongst his family as his job is a lonely one and tough going out in all weathers braving streams of plus to minus forty degrees celcius says there are there are certain difficulties there's not enough time for everything i'm almost a lot of my sister works with my mother my mother is seventy five she's very old and i miss mountains when i'm in town and i spend a lot of time here. so on most of us it simply carrying out the work that his father did and his father before him nothing has changed over many many centuries and that's half the problem it's hard work and many people don't want to come into the industry now and it's really fit their could dial soul together.

it's difficult to manage everything alone i used to have people who helped me but they were no good they didn't take care of the sheep with all their hearts they hurt the cattle. with new people leaving them coming to the countryside the region's government is having to act making the life of the herd in march active there promising largest subsidies for countryside and livestock and organizing cooperatives for the sale of day put out to ensure the hoda gets a high a fair price i asked sympathizes with those youngsters leaving for an easier more profitable life day in their publics capital because ill but he no longer wishes to join them he enjoys his pastoral way of life and looking for a helper who shares his enthusiasm with more time on his hands he says matter of fact way he can start to look for a new wife. he

won't come to the. village the old fashion but as the best and brightest take minds gather in moscow some came to work while others came to play get up close and personal with devices that recreate masterpieces and scan russian treasures for insight and from space to keep us safe from oil spills and forest fires unleash your inner gadget geek as i see major search for the next big thing in the computer world and rushes over giants what numerous goodies will bring to take the fight straight to their editors are going to come here on t.v. we've got the huge urge to cover.

welcome back you're watching r.t. live from moscow britain has joined france and recognizing the new syrian opposition unity group as the sole legitimate voice of the syrian people the u.k. has also pledged more practical support for the rebels but the wider e.u. bloc in the us stopped short of giving full endorsement to the coalition with washington saying the body must first prove its worth after its predecessor was dogged by feuding and accusations of domination peace activists john raise questions how much support the foreign based opposition and its western backers have was in syria. i think many of the people on the ground below coordinating committees have never liked the business of western intervention they've made it a point in their statements in their press releases and the things that they don't like that they don't think they're genuine revolution can come bar the western assistance and so we but ministers and so i think there are very very many people

graduate represented here but the danger is as we saw in iraq and in other places only represent groups once they get the support of the west can come to dominate launch and numbers of people on the ground. let's take a look at some other stories from around the world two suicide bombers have struck a u.s. base in afghanistan's capital killing two guards the attackers apparently tried to reach the gate by detonated their devices one police spot of them reports blame the taliban for the assault cobbles trying to beef up the city's security ahead of a holiday holy day this week. the u.n. security council has unanimously decided to sanction armed rebels in the democratic republic of congo whose fires have easily captured the resource rich eastern city of gone the m twenty three group formed after accusing congo of flouting the peace agreed after a decade of conflict with neighboring rwanda which stopped a five million people die but the un stable. fail to mention rondo or uganda which

congo claims support the rebels. and has executed the lone surviving gamera from the two thousand and eight terror attack on mumbai marcus up a pakistani citizen was one of tam gunmen who laid siege to india's financial capital four years ago killing one hundred sixty six people was hard on wednesday morning after india's president rejected his plea for mercy. now in the u.k. millions are said to be left in the cold this winter as cash strapped families struggle to pay gas and electricity bills as argues laura smith reports there is little comfort from the energy giants where the race for profit and full sway. it's a beta winter's day in london and inside this plot it's not much warmer single mother of four julie has only one thing on her mind the cold bites how is she going to pay her ever rising energy bill i decided to take fewer libel from the ceiling

and i only use one in my room it's only seat to the monkey chair in my you just one like trying to cut down. off the bill next time but in regard to bill come is still high we spoke to julie last winter when she was already struggling and we've come back to see how she'll face is even bigger challenge five of the six big energy companies have announced price rises of around ten percent according to use which whose business it is to help people reduce their bills it will drive more into an increasingly common form of poverty fuel poverty is where you spend more than ten percent of your net income on your energy bills. and we've seen these recent price increases pushed three hundred fourteen founds and people into fuel poverty that's on top of an estimated. one survey ahead of this winter found energy

prices were the biggest concern for consumers ninety percent said the cost of energy was their main household worry ahead rising costs for food petrol and mortgage payment julie shows me her energy bills carefully conserve to chart the inexorable rise since she moved in in two thousand and seven she's afraid that this winter her children's health will suffer again in the winter wind accomplice or his blanket his socks and just put it on the move cold two thousand and ten two thousand and eleven there were sick because i tried to be mean. while julie's children are getting sick the energy companies are profiting british gas prices are up six percent is on track to make one point four billion pounds in profits this

year and e.t.f. with the highest price rise of ten point eight percent announced profits of one point six billion in february where are you going to find the extra ten percent that's going to go in your bill for them. london and making ends meet is also a major headache for an increasing number of people in greens there is a little relief on the horizon with a proposed cut of twenty two thousand more jobs down to a mistake by the i.m.f. has already dot com for the whole story. was bearing all is sure to draw attention staging a provocative protest has earned several sending us back to us some unwelcome attention from french protesters. coming up after a short break abby martin.

if you're passing through rushes to be a region you really can walk on the wild side thousands of kilometers of unspoiled countryside make up an area where it's still possible to live off the land and enterprising locals so the fruits of the forest by the side of nearly every road. such spectacular scenery makes it a paradise for fisherman and provides a business opportunity for hunters. going on he has been hunting for more than thirty years and works for a company providing expeditions for tourists this season ducks are on the menu of. the two things a successful duck hunt and need a hint at a bubble cycle which means that i need to be very quiet i'm not going to frighten the. office. but when you've been in the business as long as he has the birds don't stand much chance. there are defined

hunting seasons in russia but lax enforcement means many animals are killed out of the allotted times which can leave young animals orphaned and unable to survive but environmentalists are fighting back the heart of just us forest provides a sanctuary for the most famous beast in russia it's home to a group who rescue often bear cubs and raise them when they're old enough to fend for themselves the cubs a target taken to a remote location and released back into the wild but it's not just bears who find a haven here this is wolf island. here wolf pups who've been captured by hunters or bought from zoos have a second chance at life and conservationists have a unique opportunity to observe them these walls are all around four months old and they'll stay in this area for up to three years then most will go back to the wild for good just viewing them from the car was an experience in itself but then after

a bit of a bumpy ride came an opportunity i just couldn't pass up. and this is what i was hoping for when i heard i was coming to a place called wolf island a chance to get close and personal with the locals and it's these guys are going to act as pasta parents for the next generation will come here using the older walls as surrogate parents has already proved a successful technique. every year i place infant wolves with one year old wolf cubs his parental instinct is totally shaped and they take them as their own cubs it's an important part of the world's development and a major factor in the success of a project which has seen more than twenty generations of cubs grow up here it's going to continue to take time and money to rehabilitate the wolf's reputation in russia. but the keepers here hope their research and dedication i mean that will spoil and remains a place where visitors can truly understand the cool of the wilds.

here is mitt romney trying to figure out the name of that thing that we americans call a donut. concludes the longest and while this campaign in our history colors eleven well that. format it played before that some of. the twists and turns that have been the hallmarks of this campaign want you to watch what we're about to do because you've never seen anything like this on cell.

was stop you all i'm out here martin so i just want to take this time to wish a very happy birthday to vice president joe biden girl joe is turning the big seven zero today and celebrate this occasion i decided to highlight some of his greatest hits check it out. i can tell you and i've known eight presidents three of them in the because of congress they say the military options on the table vice president biden incredible. shape. well. they're going to put you all back in chains my mother believed that my father believed that if i want to press the united states i could be i could be vice president his mama lived did no wrong. i don't for ten years or so a god rest her soul and. although she's wait your mom still your mom still alive is

your dad passed i promise you the president has a big stick. yes that's right this man is the first in line to build bigger of the free world so let's break the cycle. a little more of the ever seen anything like that. and israel every citizen of military age is forced to serve time in the i.d.f. yesterday we highlighted i.d.f. soldier and tom block a conscientious objector of the israeli military but there are many more just like him my wind is a young israeli who grew up in jerusalem during the second intifada in two thousand and eight she refused to serve in the army and spent weeks and tension and forty days in prison for her resistance and a statement she said quote we can no longer term our military a defense force a defense.